Is There a Gun Violence Epidemic? The Numbers Say No

[Revmitchell]

The recent mass shooting in Oregon has brought the seemingly endless debate on gun control back into the national spotlight.

Are we, as some insist, in the midst of a gun violence crisis? Gun control advocates would certainly have you think so.

Rolling Stone magazine has an entire section on its website dedicated to gun violence entitled “America’s gun violence epidemic.”

Hillary Clinton recently stated that “this epidemic of gun violence knows no boundaries.” Even the American Public Health Organization states in its section on gun violence that “a comprehensive public health approach to addressing this growing crisis is necessary.”

A quick look into the facts reveals an entirely different picture. According to the FBI, in the past two decades, violent crime has been falling almost continuously. In 2013, the number of violent crimes perpetrated was 37 percent lower than it was just two decades earlier.

In 1994, there were 23,326 murders in the United States; by 2013, that number had fallen to 14,196, an incredible 39-percent decline. More specifically, according to the Department of Justice, the number of firearm-related homicides declined from 18,253 in 1993 to 11,101 in 2011.

The Department of Justice further concludes that even non-fatal gun-related crimes are declining, dropping 69 percent between 1993 and 2011. While the exact causes for this dramatic decrease can be debated, the decrease itself raises the question: Where does this idea of an “epidemic” of rising gun violence come from?

The most significant factor may be the large-scale media coverage of and public interest in mass shootings. Americans are captivated by stories of mass shootings and have followed them closely.

According to the Pew Research Center, in 2012, 57 percent of the American public said that they followed the Newton, Conn., school shooting “very closely.” The attention given was second only to that year’s presidential election. The Pew Research center further reports that 48 percent of Americans also payed close attention to the movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colo.

The simple fact is that horrific headlines, such as the number of children gunned down in a school, have a greater shock value than nearly any other kind of story. The media understand this. Seeking, as always, the highest ratings, media companies tend to disproportionately report on mass shootings even though mass shootings account for only a fraction of the total number of homicides committed each year.

http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/j...facebook&utm_campaign=c-gun-violence-epidemic

 

[righteousdude2]

http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/j...facebook&utm_campaign=c-gun-violence-epidemic

Maybe in Chicago! But for the rest of the US, there is only an epidemic in the eyes of those who are pushing for gun control! I hope you get a strong discussion on this, as it is a great topic!

 

[Jedi Knight]

 

[Crabtownboy]

http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/j...facebook&utm_campaign=c-gun-violence-epidemic

So the number of shootings and mass killing are acceptable to you. Is that correct?

 

[Don]

So the number of shootings and mass killing are acceptable to you. Is that correct?

Do you still beat your wife?

 

[Revmitchell]

So the number of shootings and mass killing are acceptable to you. Is that correct?

Now there is some innuendo.

 

[just-want-peace]

So the number of shootings and mass killing are acceptable to you. Is that correct?

Posts of this style logic(???? Laugh ) validate the "dumb" emojl!!

 

[Rob_BW]

So the number of shootings and mass killing are acceptable to you. Is that correct?

Are the number of car accidents and multi vehicle pile ups acceptable to you?

 

[InTheLight]

Now there is some innuendo.

Actually, that's a loaded and a leading question.

In this instance innuendo would be something like, "terrorists are one group of people that oppose gun control."

 

[Crabtownboy]

Do you still beat your wife?

Does you wife still beat you?

 

[Revmitchell]

Actually, that's a loaded and a leading question.

In this instance innuendo would be something like, "terrorists are one group of people that oppose gun control."

Good grief. It's a leading question, It's innuendo. it is also a personal attack. He is suggesting that I am willing to let people die in order to keep faithful to the second amendment.

 

[Rob_BW]

Judging from the dumb rating, I reckon crabtownboy isn't campaigning to lower speed limits and restrict access to multi-cylinder vehicles.

Roflmao

 

[Don]

Sorry; bad internet connection, duplicate submissions.

 

[Don]

Sorry; bad internet connection, duplicate submissions.

 

[Don]

Does you wife still beat you?

You know exactly what I was indicating.

Your problem is that you continue to make no distinction between the tool and the user.

Gun deaths are a symptom, not the disease.

 

[DMorgan]

If one removes the gun violence occurring due to gang activity in the major US cities, the gun crime rates fall to levels equalling all of the gun restrictive European countries. Also, the numbers of citizens using firearms for self defense has been growing over the last decade and rarely gets reported. Even the DOJ data shows over a decade of reduction in crimes committed with firearms. Bottom line is that we do not have a firearm problem, we have a sin problem. England has effectively banned handguns and most long guns from the island, and guess what? Now they are going after knives due to stabbings and knife attacks rising exponentially. Sin problem! Anything in the hands of someone who doesn't know Jesus and recognize the sovereignty of Almighty God becomes a weapon.